29 injured in New York blast; 2nd suspicious device removed

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An explosion rocked the Chelsea neighbourhood of Manhattan on Saturday night, injuring at least 29 people, authorities said, adding that they are investigating the blast as a criminal act not immediately linked to any terror organisation.

A law enforcement source said an initial investigation suggested the explosion occurred in a dumpster but the cause was still undetermined. The head of the New York Police Department’s special operations division said on Twitter that a “possible secondary device has been located” in the same general area. The second suspected device was safely removed by the bomb squad on Sunday.

The explosion – which came hours after a pipe bomb went off in a garbage can in New Jersey – occurred in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighbourhood at 23rd St. And 6th Avenue, a busy residential and commercial area frequented by tourists and city residents, around 8:30 pm (local time) yesterday.

Police have removed a suspicious device from a Manhattan location four blocks from the site of an explosion that injured more than two dozen people.

The New York Police Department tweeted early Sunday that the device has been safely removed from West 27th Street by the bomb squad. Police say it was to be taken to the department firing range in the Bronx.

Police had earlier advised residents on the block where the device was found to stay away from windows facing 27th Street.